Return of the Missing Son
by Lord Mesron
Summary: Even a zeppo can move beyond his place and make a difference. Complete. BX forever!


The characters from the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer show belong to WB (and/or UPN), Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, Sandollar and Joss Whedon. The others are original characters created by myself.

Angel is human, having received his reward from the PTBs. Harmony was never turned into a vampire.

Summary: Even a zeppo can rise above his place and make a difference.

**Return of the Missing Son**

by Scott R. Barnett

Sunnydale, CA

October 15, 2014

A man in U.S. Army dress uniform was standing outside of the entrance to Sunnydale High School in Sunnydale, California. He was here for his fifteen year high school reunion. It was the first time he was back in fifteen years.

"Oh well" sighed the man. "Time to get this over with."

He opened the doors and walked in and down towards the gym. When he got there he noticed a table setup with name tags. There was no one sitting at the table, though. This was not surprising considering he had timed his entrance for right before dinner was supposed to start. He just hadn't felt like socializing with these people during a cocktail hour. As his uniform already had a name tag as part of it, he did not bother with the sticker on the table.

When he walked into the gym he saw that everyone was already sitting at their tables. He also noticed that there was a lady on a small stage at the front of the room talking on the microphone. He stopped just inside the doorway to listen to what she had to say.

"Good evening everyone. For those of you who do not remember me, I am Karen Tolley, formerly Karen Johnson. I thought before dinner was served we would go around the room and introduce ourselves and say what you have been up to since we last got together. I'll start and we will then go clockwise around the room." said Karen.

Xander listened with interest to what everyone had to say about what had happened to them since graduation. He was surprised by how some of the people turned out, and not so surprised by others. Finally, they got to the last table. The one that he was most interested in. This was the one that contained his former, and hopefully, future friends. Cordelia got up first.

"Hi everyone. For the few people who don't remember me, and I really doubt anyone could forget me, I'm Cordelia O'Rourke, formerly Cordelia Chase." said Cordy.

A small chuckle went around the room at her comment.

"Sitting next to me is my husband and business partner, Angel O'Rourke. For the last fifteen years we have been running a private investigations firm called Angel Investigations. We help anyone and everyone that need it. We live and work in Los Angeles. Also, I am proud to say we have 2 children. We have a five year-old son by the name of Connor and a two year-old daughter by the name of Alexandra. We named her, as some of you might guess, for our long lost friend Xander Harris." said Cordy, with a few tears in her eyes.

"I guess I'll go next. My name is Willow Osborne, formerly Rosenberg. This is my husband, Daniel Osborne or Oz. Oz tours and records with his band, Dingoes ate my Baby. As for me, I have been running the hugely successful Rosenberg Systems, Inc. for the last fifteen years. We make our home in San Diego with our two children. We have a six year-old daughter by the name of Jessica, which we named for our departed friend Jessie. We also have a four year-old son by the name of Alexander which we also named for Xander." said Willow.

She sat down with a few tears in her eyes. Finally, the last person stood up. There was an empty chair next to her, as there had been for the last two reunions. Everyone in the room knew the significance of it.

"Hello. My name is still Buffy Summers. Unlike my friends here, I have not yet met the person I am going to settle down with." said Buffy, looking briefly down at the empty chair.

Everyone in the room saw this, and knew she what she really meant.

"As for what I have been doing, after college I joined the FBI and have been working out of the Los Angeles Office as a Special Agent. This past year I was made Special Agent in Charge of the Violent Crimes, West Coast section. As for my home, I still live here in good old Sunnydale. I have an apartment not far from my parent's house. For those of you who remember him, Mr. Giles and my mother got married eight years ago." said Buffy.

After Buffy sat down, Karen retook the stage. After a quick look around, though she still did not see Xander in the back of the room, she started to speak.

"Well, I am glad to see everyone seems to be doing well for themselves. Right before we started this I took a look at the registration table outside and noticed again that the only tag still there was the General's. I know I speak for most of us when I say that I wish him well in whatever he is doing, and wish he would stop back to see us one year. Why he left is only known to his closest friends, but I'm sure that whatever it was he would be welcome back here." said Karen.

"He would." whispered both Buffy and Willow, though many heard them throughout the room, including the man standing in the back. All of the former classmates knew who Karen referred to when she called the man the General. It was a reference to his leading the student army during Graduation.

"Oh well. Let's get started with dinner, I guess." said Karen.

With that declaration, Xander stepped forward into the light and over to stand by the empty chair at the last table. There were quite a few gasps when he emerged from the shadows.

"Could we hold up dinner a moment? And by the way, the rank is actually only Lt. Colonel. Maybe it will be General in the future, but not yet." said a smiling Xander.

Everyone had a look of shock on their faces when they saw Xander standing there, resplentent in his Army dress greens. He had his cover tucked under his arm. He placed said cover on the table and walked over to the stage. He got up on it and walked over to the microphone, just as Karen moved away from it.

"I'm guessing there are a lot of questions about where I've been, what I've been up to and why I haven't been back till now. First off, as you can see I am a Lt. Colonel in the United States Army, stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I joined the Army shortly after leaving Sunnydale. I spent several years as enlisted personnel before finishing college and being commissioned as an officer." said Xander.

"But we looked for you. I should have been able to find you if you were in the army." said Willow.

"Au contraire, Willow. My files are classified, and have been for quite a few years. I guess I should mention what my position is in the Army. I am one of three Lt. Colonels working for General Richman and his executive officer, Colonel Green. General Richman is a two star with command of Delta Force, the United States elite anti-terrorism force. I have direct supervision of teams I-IV of Delta Force. There are currently twelve teams. I came up through the ranks of Team II. I joined it as a private and moved up to commander of it before moving into my current position." replied Xander.

"Is that why you never came back? You weren't allowed to?" asked Jonathan.

"No, that isn't why I didn't come back. The Army would not have stopped me from coming back unless I was on a mission. The reasons are several. At first, I did not think I would be welcome back. The reason for that, which is the same as why I left in the first place, will remain classified between Buffy, Willow and me. By the time our five year reunion rolled around, I had decided to test the waters and come back for it. However, a month before the event my Team was sent to the Middle East for a twelve month deployment. We were tasked with finding Osama Bin Laden." said Xander.

"Was it your Team who found him?" asked Larry.

"I am sorry, but that is classified. I will say, though, that when we got back it was to some very nice medals and commendations." replied Xander, smiling.

"What about our tenth reunion?" asked Harmony.

Xander's disposition turned from smiling, to somewhat sad.

"Umm, let's just say I was unavailable." said Xander.

"What happened?" asked Angel, concern showing in his voice.

"I don't normally like to talk about it, but three months before the reunion I was taken captive by the Chinese. Remember we were at war with them at the time. My Team was on a mission deep within there borders. Something went wrong with the intel we had and I paid the price for it. I was held for over six months. I almost didn't make it out of that prison alive. If it wasn't for my Team locating me and getting me out of there I probably wouldn't be here today. As it is I have the reminders of that time, including this lovely scar above my right eye." replied a sullen Xander.

There were quite a few gasps from around the room at that, especially from the table where his friends sat.

"After that I spent some time in the hospital and rehab getting myself back together physically and mentally. That took about eight months. I then went on limited administrative duty for two months before my doctor would release me for active duty. I then rejoined my team and continued working directly with them until last year when I was promoted to my current position. I am now in a good place in my life and decided it was time to resurface, as a friend of mine in the navy would say, and see if I still had any friends back home." said Xander, looking over to that table.

He then stood there a moment before his friends got up and came up to him. Both Angel and Oz shook hands with him. The ladies on the other hand each gave him long hugs. They all had some tears in their eyes. Everyone else in the room stood up and gave him a standing ovation. Xander merely nodded his head to them, and then accompanied by his friends he made his way to their table and sat down for dinner.

After dinner there was dancing and mingling. Xander had a lot of people come up to see him and talk to him about his experiences. Due to the classified nature of his work, though, he could not tell them much. Buffy, however, stuck by his side the whole time. Xander noticed this and asked her to dance. She just gave him this big beautiful smile and let him lead her onto the dance floor. They ended up dancing the night away. They were among the last to leave.

When they left, Xander offered to drive Buffy home. She agreed, as she had walked there. When they got there she invited him in for some coffee. They sat there drinking coffee and talking late into the night. About three in the morning Buffy got up off the couch and took Xander by the hand. She smiled at him and led him to her bedroom. Xander stopped her at the door and silently asked her if she was sure. She merely smiled back and kissed him. They then walked into the room hand-in-hand.

Sunnydale, CA

October 17, 2019

The twentieth reunion of the class of 1999 of Sunnydale High School was in full swing when Xander walked in the doors, in full dress uniform. His eyes immediately searched the room for someone. When he found the person he headed towards them. He got to the table just as everyone was asked to sit down.

"Good evening everyone. I am glad everyone was able to make it for our twentieth reunion. As usual, my name is Karen Tolley, formerly Karen Johnson. Also, as I've said in past years, this is the last time I am organizing this thing." said Karen.

A laugh went around the room at that comment. Everyone knew she would probably be involved in it again the next time around.

"Ok, ok, enough of that. Now, let's go around the room and say what we have been up to for the last five years. I'll start." said Karen.

About twenty minutes later they finally came to the last table. Cordelia got up first.

"Well, I'm Cordelia O'Rourke, formerly Chase. Angel and I are still married and our two children are doing wonderful. The investigation business is also doing great. In fact just after the last reunion we opened a branch office of it in Cleveland, OH. We're now considering one in San Francisco." said Cordy.

"I'll go next. I'm Willow Osborne, formerly Rosenberg. Oz, our children and I are also doing great. Rosenberg Systems is still the top grossing systems company on the market today, beating out even Microsoft and IBM. As for Oz, if you saw the Tony's and Grammy's last year you would have seen him and the rest of his band getting awards for Best Album of the Year and Best New Musical of the Year. Several of their songs were also recently chosen for inclusion in the new Tom Cruise film. No, we can't tell you anything about the movie; we've been sworn to secrecy on it." said Willow.

Finally, it was Xander and Buffy's turn. The two of them stood up together.

"Well I'm Buffy Summers, and last time I told you that I was the Special Agent in Charge of the West Coast Violent Crimes division. Well, earlier this year I got promoted to Assistant Director in charge of the whole Violent Crimes Division of the FBI. Due to this I relocated to Washington, D.C. Actually, I live in Richmond, VA and work in Washington." said Buffy.

Buffy stayed standing, and let Xander take over.

"Well, last time we were all here I told you that I was only a Lt. Colonel. Well, that's changed. Shortly after that reunion I was fast tracked to full Colonel and made second in command of Delta Force. General Richman retired and they had promoted Colonel Green to Brigadier General as his replacement.

As you can see by the rank insignia on my uniform, though, I am no longer a Colonel. One month ago, General Green announced his retirement and the selection committee had to choose a new flag officer to take over Delta Force. Five day's ago I was notified that I would be promoted to Brigadier General and give command of Delta Force. Three day's ago I reported to an award ceremony in Washington, D.C. and received my first star, making me the youngest General in the United States Army. I now command all of Delta Force. I am still stationed at Fort Bragg, but now I am living in Richmond, VA. The reason why I was late was that I was stuck in meetings due to this new appointment, until late.

Yes, I said Richmond, VA, the same city as Buffy. That is because her last name is no longer Summers, it is Harris. Six months after our last reunion, we got married. She then transferred out to the East Coast section of the FBI where she was able to take command of that section of the Violent Crimes division.

We also, since then, have a son by the name of Jessie. He is 3 and half years old. The other good news that I just received 2 days ago is that Buffy is pregnant with our second child. She's about one month along." said a proud Xander. He then leaned down and kissed Buffy very passionately.

After he was done, a lot of people came over to congratulate the couple, while dinner was being served. Their friends at the table, though, had known all about this, except the new birth announcement. They had been there for the wedding and promotion ceremonies.

Finis.


End file.
